Jess
by Kasey22
Summary: The long awaited sequel to Jessie. Jess is now sixteen and trying to negotiate the tricky paths of growing up. Luckily, she has her Uncle Luke to lend a helping hand when she needs it. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Anyone you may recognize from the show does not belong to me. Jess, Tim, and Sam, do though.

A/N: Sequel to Jessie, this has not been beta'd so please be gentle (and if you find something that needs a correction, please let me know), many thanks to Lindsay for all the convos on teenagers. Reviews are adored and cherished.

xoxox

Chapter One

It was a Monday in late September; one of those crisp and orange autumn days that Connecticut is so famous for, and Luke Danes found himself where he always found himself on the last Monday of the month: Sports Authority, shopping for toe shoes. Jess Danes, she refused to answer to Jessie anymore (had _been_ refusing since she turned thirteen three years ago) led the familiar way to the back of the store and found the same pair of pink satin toe shoes she'd been buying since she'd graduated to toe shoes two years ago.

Luke had picked her up from Stars Hollow High at 2:30 as he always did on the last Monday of the month and they'd driven to the Hartford Sports Authority in silence. The silence between them was a relatively new development.

How things have changed, he thought, watching her efficiently tuck the shoebox under one arm. She was almost as tall as he was and it seemed sometimes, like now, that her long body with its natural dancer's grace was doing battle with the awkward and hunched posture of your average teenager.

Now, Jessica Elizabeth Danes arched one perfectly plucked eyebrow at him – thank you, Lorelai – and said with matter-of-fact poise, "This really sucks. You wouldn't make Will pay for shoes he _needs_."

"Language," he answered with his usual calm, knee-jerk automation. "And Will is only five, with no way of making money. You're sixteen and you have a job and you need to be more responsible. Besides, you're only paying for half. These things are expensive and you go through them like candy." If she still ate candy anymore.

Jess scoffed with indignation, her small frame straight as arrow, her shoulders stiff with controlled irritation. He hated it when she pouted like this. It reminded him of when she'd been eight and full of sound and fury. Now she was the painfully shy teenager he remembered so well from his own growing-up years. Unsure of herself and unwilling to lose her control, but always just on the edge.

"You don't have to like it," he said trying to be unmoved by her display. Jess had turned sixteen the previous month and he'd informed her that now that she was getting older, she'd have to start helping to support her extracurricular activities.

William Gilmore Danes, Will, was the product of his first year of marriage to Lorelai Gilmore Danes, the woman whom Jess had proposed to seven years ago. He was lucky that they got along so well, not all families as complicated as theirs did. Of course, no family was perfect and each day was an adventure.

Luke sighed and tossed an arm around her long neck. At sixteen she was the consummate dancer. She always wore her long dark curls in a knot at the crown of her head, she lived in a leotard and she watched her food intake like a hawk. This last one worried Luke a bit but she ate all the fruits and vegetables he could throw at her so he guessed she was okay. That was another change. As a child she'd lived on junk food, now the mere mention of French fries made her shiver dramatically. That was one thing that had not changed – her sense of humor and her penchant for drama had definitely remained intact.

Jess relaxed under his arm and ducked her head, surreptitiously looking around, trying to make sure that there was no one whom she knew in the store. Luke noticed that she did this often, especially in Stars Hollow.

As she looked around, tense and alert as new fawn, she saw _him_ and stopped dead in her tracks. Tim Zachary. Uncle Luke pulled up short and gave her a quizzical look, trying to figure out why she'd stopped. When she didn't say anything he followed her gaze and saw a boy, about her age, checking out at the registers. When he looked back at his niece, she was gone, hidden behind a rack of sports bras staring at the blonde kid.

Tim was the boy. _Her_ boy. If he only knew she was alive. If she could only string a sentence together when he was around. If only she were popular enough to hang out with his crowd.

Luke put his hands on his jean-clad hips and waited while she watched the kid check out and leave. When she straightened behind the rack and looked up at him, the look they exchanged was saturated in their history. He was impatient but amused, his head tilted to one side, lips clamped together tight as a drum to keep from laughing; she looked apologetic, defensive and a little forlorn.

"That was a guy at my school. Tim," she explained awkwardly as they walked to the register he'd just vacated.

"Oh, yeah?"

"He's in my grade."

"And."

"And what?" she asked, putting the box of toe shoes on the counter.

They each forked over twenty dollars for the shoes and as they headed for the door Luke said, "And why the disappearing act?" Sometimes she was the old Jessie again, the tough little girl who could take on the world. And sometimes she was this fragile new creature who looked ready to cry over a silly boy. Sometimes he had no idea what to say to her.

Jess shifted her backpack on her shoulders and struggled to shrug, embarrassed that he'd caught her out in liking a boy who was so far out of her league.

They walked to his old green truck in silence and when they got in Luke hesitated in turning the engine over. "Jessie?" he asked, virtually the only one in the world still allowed to use this nickname. When she'd turned thirteen she'd gone hell-bent over the edge in making people use the more grown-up 'Jess'.

"Yeah," she asked staring out the windshield.

"Are you getting…involved with…boys?" Luke's face turned a desperate shade of scarlet as he spoke and he hoped she wouldn't notice.

"Ew!" she squeaked, looking at him sharply in mortification.

"Well, it's a natural thing…I mean…when you get to be your age…it's something I'm sure you're…_curious_ about," he stammered miserably.

"Oh, God," she moaned with one hand over her eyes.

"Look," Luke said. Lorelai had taken care of the 'where babies come from talk' but this was different and he wasn't sure it had been covered it. "I just want you to be careful. Sex can be complicated…and…and…_messy_ - "

"Stop!" she said, hands over her ears, her face bright pink in the sunlight. "I don't want to hear any more!"

"But it's something we should be able to talk about," he soldiered on, clearly not wanting to talk about it either, but thinking that this was what parents everywhere did. "I mean I don't like the idea of you being with boys that way but you're getting older and you're…becoming a woman and things happen. I just want you to be safe and happy."

With her head in her hands Jess mumbled, "Can we go home please?"

Luke sighed. It was like talking to a brick wall. Still, to the best of his knowledge she'd never been out on a date so it was possible that she was telling the truth. It rankled, though. Their relationship had changed in the last few years. "We used to tell each other everything," he reproached quietly, shifting his focus to the dark green hood of the truck.

Jess lifted her head and he saw how earnest she looked. "There's nothing to tell. I go to school, I go to dance, I work at the diner, we go to Friday dinners, I study, I sleep, I get up. I have one friend and she works for you. You know everything." Something in her voice told him that she wished she had _some_ secrets, even if they were the most immaterial in nature.

"Okay," he said. "But you know that you can always talk to me, right? About…" he almost choked, "boys…or anything."

Jess nodded and looked back out the window. How could she tell her well-meaning uncle how much she liked Tim Zachary? Not only was it silly, but what could he possible do about it? As she put her seatbelt on, she tried to shrug off her funk.

Luke pointed the truck toward Stars Hollow and they spent the next five miles in their own thoughts. Then, Luke nudged her arms and pointed at an old junker in the next lane. The license plate read, RLN 463. "Well?" he said, a hopeful smile tugging at his features.

With a tiny smile Jess looked at her uncle. His two-day stubble, the backwards baseball hat, the flannel shirt; it was as if time had stopped for him when she'd arrived. There were more lines around his eyes than before but other than that, he was the same as ever. And now he was trying to get her to play their game. "Um," she said, "Ralph Lauren Nautica."

"Is that a hint that you want to go shopping more often?"

Giggling, she lifted her finger and pointed out another car with a license plate that read, HTR 556. "Your turn."

Without hesitation, Luke answered, "Hate Taylor Right." This made Jess laugh, of course. Her uncle's relationship with Taylor Doose had not improved with age.

"Okay now you," Luke told her pointing to another car with a license that read, NLV 214.

Jess thought about it for a second and then said, "Nice Little Voice."

"Good job."

They were approaching Stars Hollow and she said, "Last one." The car ahead of them now had a license that read, DEF 889.

"Deliriously Eager Fart," Luke replied. She belted out a laugh so hard she had to grab her stomach and he smiled, too. This was his thing. Ever since she'd become this morose teenage stranger it had become a personal challenge to get her to laugh whenever possible. Resorting to scatological humor didn't bother him if it did the trick.

"Gross!" she exclaimed, pretended to be offended.

Luke pulled up outside the diner and they got out of the truck still smiling at each other.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you might recognize.

A/N: Still not beta'd, so please be gentle. Reviews are appreciated, as is constructive criticism.

Chapter Two

When Luke and Jess got home that night after the dinner shift, Jess went to change out of her school clothes which were an off the shoulder leotard that would have shown cleavage if she'd had any to show, her school jeans and a pair of worn loafers. It was eight-thirty and she found Will in his room practicing his addition and subtraction. The kid was another Rory, no question. He rarely watched cartoons, or TV of any kind. He hated comic books and since the time he could read he'd been subscribing to _Science Weekly_. On her way to her room she saw him hunched over his desk, writing furiously away.

"Watcha doing?" she asked. Will, at five, was the spitting image of Lorelai with glossy black hair, pale but defined features, and sharp blue eyes

"I am practicing my math," he explained in clipped, precise words. Will had had a slight lisp when he was learning to talk and it was one of those thing he hated and ground out of himself, striving for perfection even as a lurching toddler.

Tonight, he was dressed in neatly pressed pajamas with a bathrobe carefully knotted at his waist. Jess took note of the pleated khakis and polo shirt hanging on the closet doorknob. She would bet that he even had his loafers and a pair of navy socks picked out, too, somewhere. For all his affinity for Lorelai, he was nothing like her in personality. She was in the living room right now watching _Bridezillas_ while on the phone with Rory who was watching the same.

As if conjured into the room by these thoughts, Will suddenly looked up and said, apropos of nothing, "When will Rory have the baby?"

Jess pulled up the spare chair that Will kept near his desk and sat down on it, watching his numbers and the careful way he'd erase something when he made a mistake. "I think she said at the end of the month, so only a couple more weeks."

With a nod, as if she'd just confirmed his own dire suspicions, Will said, "And will the baby be our brother or sister?" His forehead was creased and Jess knew that this was something that Lorelai and Luke had explained a couple of times. The closeness in age between Will and the coming baby confused him. He couldn't understand how he himself was Rory's half-brother and any child she might have would be his half-niece or nephew.

"Not quite," Jess answered gently. "You're Rory's brother. So you'll be the baby's uncle. Like Luke is my uncle, because he's my mother's brother."

The crease in Will's forehead deepened and he frowned trying to get it. He'd never understood how he and Jess weren't brother and sister. They lived in the same house with the same parents and they _acted_ like brother and sister, so….

"Grandma and Grandpa are really excited," Will told her looking back down at the problem he was working on.

"They were here?"

"Grandma came by with a telescope for me and to say that she'd seen Rory today and she looked like she was going to burst. Rory's not going to die is she?"

"No," Jess said. "Women have babies all the time. Rory's going to be fine. And Marty will be there in the delivery room with her so he'll make extra sure."

Will nodded. Everybody in the family liked Marty. Their courtship had been long and arduous, not unlike the courtship that had occurred between Luke and Lorelai.

"So Grandma brought you a telescope?" Emily strikes again. The kid was the slightest bit inclined toward science and she'd gone her usual overboard. "Mommy said I couldn't keep it, though. Mommy said _she_ could buy me a telescope. And then Grandma said why _didn't_ she if she _could_, and then Mommy said she just hadn't _thought_ of it and then Grandma said maybe she should _think_ about her children for a change."

Will looked up at her and smiled. "But then I did the puppy eyes and she let me keep it."

Jess held up her hand and Will high-fived her. "Good job."

As Luke watched Jess round the corner of the kitchen and head toward her room, he followed the sound of his wife's voice into the living room and found her on the couch watching something on TV that looked awful. She was on the phone with Rory he guessed, based on Lorelai's end of the conversation, so he sat down, leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. A moment later the phone clicked off and he felt one feminine hand casually inch up the denim along his leg.

He opened one eye and saw that she was leaning close, a smile playing across her mouth. "Hi honey," she said. "How was your day?"

Leaning forward to steal a kiss, he said with a shake of his head, "It started okay and went steadily downhill. I had to talk to Jess about sex with the predictable results."

"You had a sex talk without me?" She looked intrigued.

"It had to be done. Or maybe it didn't. I don't know." Luke filled her in on what had happened with the boy in the store and then the awkward conversation in the truck.

"It had to be done," Lorelai concurred. "Do you believe her? About not having sex yet?"

"I have no reason not to believe her," Luke said. "But it still worries me. She's still so young, you know? I don't want to see her get hurt and kids today are doing things at younger and younger ages."

Lorelai nodded and didn't speak for a few minutes. Then she said, "My mother stopped by today."

Luke's head again dropped to the back of the sofa and he closed his eyes in mock exasperation. "Six years and that woman still hates me," he murmured.

"She doesn't hate you," Lorelai assured him. "She just thinks you never were and never will be good enough for me."

"Right."

"But you helped give her a grandson who is, if possible, even more of a perfect specimen than Rory was and for that she will always be grateful." She told him about the telescope and Luke nodded.

Will was his mother's son: he sided with her in ever argument, he rarely left her side in public, when he awoke from a bad dream he only wanted her, he would much rather hang around the Dragonfly than come sit at the counter at the diner, as Jess had always enjoyed. Lorelai always patiently explained that he would grow out of it. As soon as he discovered that all of his friends and their dads fished together in the summertime, he'd want some of that, too. Luke only nodded, though, not completely convinced. It did even out, though. Lorelai had Will and Luke had Jess.

While they all really did get along and the warmth between them was genuine, Luke had been Jessie's sole parent for a while, and that left them with a closeness that no one, not even her mother could touch. It was true that Liz had signed away custody of Jessie all those years ago and rather than have a conversation with her daughter about it, she had left it to Luke to explain, which he had done beautifully.

For her part, the feelings had been decidedly mixed. Jessie was very sad to see the evidence of her mother's lack of interest in her; but, on the other hand, her Uncle Luke was her best friend and she found that as the months passed, she didn't miss her mother as much as she thought she would.

"Are you upset that I let him have it?" she asked. "The telescope."

"That was always your thing, not mine," Luke said in an even tone. "She can give him the moon and it wouldn't bother me. You're the one that sets the limits."

Lorelai was quiet again for a moment before saying, "I just don't want…" When she didn't finish Luke took her hand and said, "I know." Because he did know. He knew how Emily could be and he knew what Lorelai was afraid of. It's what made him feel okay about letting her have her way when it came to Emily.

When Emily had come to the hospital to see her grandson for the first time, she had been near tears with happiness. She'd been so crazy with joy that she'd even given Luke a hug, something neither had been able to repeat or talk about since.

Jessie had been there, of course, and to make sure that she didn't feel unappreciated with all the new-baby stuff, Luke had just bought her her first pair of toe shoes and she'd entertained Emily in the waiting room with pirouettes and plies and all the other ballet moves she'd been studying for two years. Somehow, neither Luke nor Lorelai had ever been able to figure out how, but somehow Jessie had gotten to the old lady that day.

Over the years Emily and Richard spoiled little Will to distraction, but equality was their mainstay and they tended to fuss over Jessie, too. There was never a present for Will unless there was one for Jessie, too, and when Luke had awkwardly expressed his thanks to Emily at the end of one excruciating Christmas dinner, Emily had imperiously raised one eyebrow and said, "Luke you cannot expect two children growing up in the same house to be satisfied with favoritism."

She'd said this as if he hadn't already known it. As if having to explain it to him had only increased her disdain for him. And all he'd wanted to do was thank her for recognizing the situation and acting accordingly.

He forgave her eventually. He saw that Emily took as much pleasure in doting on Jessie as she took from doting on Rory and Will and for that if nothing else, Emily won Luke's heart. She could treat him any way she wanted; as long as she was kind to the people dearest to him, he didn't care.

Jess left Will a little bit later and went to her room to change. Sam would be getting home soon and she needed to talk to her.

Sam, Samantha Carter, was Jess' only friend. They met on the first day of Freshman year in English class when they'd been paired up to work on an Emily Dickinson poem together for a presentation. Sam had just moved to Stupid Hollow, as she referred to the town, from New York. Her dad was an investment banker who'd left her mother with nothing, according to Sam's mother, Joanne. The divorce was ongoing and acrimonious. Sam pined for the city and hated the country. She and her mother would have terrible fights that always ended with her threat to go and live with her father. Joanne would simply scream back that she doubted her father wanted anything to do with her since he was probably busy screwing his secretary. Sam always wept after these fights and after a couple of months she'd start coming over to Jess's to sleep over. Since they went to the same school and they never gave Luke or Lorelai a problem when it came time to get up for school in the morning, everyone was okay with it.

About mid-way through Freshman year Sam showed up at school with jet-black hair. Her peaches and cream complexion didn't really work with the drastic and harsh new look. Her natural cherubic blonde self seemed buried under the heavy looking color. Jess didn't say anything, though. It was obvious to her, if not to any of the adults, that Sam was looking for a way to get her father's attention. If she did something so crazy and outlandish that her mother had to call her father, she would win. Her father would drive up, take one look at the ridiculous town her mother had taken them to, see how it was affecting his precious girl, and take her home immediately.

This didn't happen so the next week Sam added royal blue streaks to the blackened mess. Still nothing.

A month later, Sam got her nosed pierced and started overeating. Within three months, her natural curves filled out even more and her clothes got tight. She was only about five foot two but she didn't care that her height couldn't handle the extra weight. She was waiting for her father to come save her.

Now, in late September of their Sophmore year, Sam still had not seen her father since her mother had moved them to Connecticut last summer. She dressed exclusively in black, still had the black hair, although the streaks of color changed every now and then, made her jewelry out of safety pins and black leather, wore combat boots, and was still Jess' closest friend.

How the ballerina and the misfit bonded, the grownups had no idea, Jess was sure. But they seemed to understand each other. Sam had been brought to Connecticut against her will, as had Jessie all those years ago. Sam was estranged from her father as Jess was estranged from her mother. The only real difference was that Sam had dated some in New York and was fairly experienced and for Jess talking to a boy was completely out of the question.

When Sam needed a part-time job, Jess and stepped in and brought her to Luke. Lane now lived in New York with Zach and the other band members, playing clubs and working the music scene there. With Jess taking more and more dance classes Luke had needed part-time help. Sam, for all her rebellious tendencies was a surprisingly responsible and adept employee.

Now, as Jess dialed the familiar numbers on the phone in her room, she was praying her friend would be home. After a few moments of ringing, the phone was picked up by Joanne who answered with a gruff, "Hul-_lo_?"

"Hi, Mrs. Carter, it's Jess. Is Sam home yet?"

"Hang on," Joanne said. Then Jess heard Joanne yell in the background, "Hey! Phone!"

A few more minutes passed before Jess heard another phone in the house pick up and Joanne's end go down. "Hey," Sam said.

"Hey," Jess said.

"What's new?"

"You'll never guess."

"Tell me!" Sam cried, knowing Jess wasn't one to cry wolf.

"I saw Tim at the store today!"

"No way!" Sam squealed. "Omigod! Did he say anything to you?"

"No," Jess answered, deflating. "He didn't even see me. I…I saw him and then hid."

"Perfectly understandable," Sam told her.

"I'm such a dork!"

"So not," Sam defended.

"Ugh. I hid behind bras and I did it in front of Uncle Luke. And then he asked me if I was having sex with boys. It was awful."

"Ick!" Sam agreed. "What did you say?"

"I told him I didn't want to talk about it."

"And what did he say?"

"He said he didn't want to see me get hurt and that sex is complicated."

"Gross!"

"I know. I wanted to die."

"You know what, though?"

"What?"

"Your uncle Luke is hot. I bet he and Lorelai have sex all the time."

"EW!" Jess screeched.

Sam giggled and said, "I would want to if I was Lorelai."

"Shutupshutupshutupshutup!"

"Okay, okay! What are you doing this weekend?"

"Same thing we do every weekend. Friday night dinner in Hartford, work at the diner, do homework."

"Let's go to the mall."

"Okay," Jess agreed, without any real enthusiasm.

They made plans and then said goodnight, knowing they'd be seeing each other the next day at school. Jess hung up still thinking about Tim Zachary and the sports bras. He was so gorgeous. He was perfectly tanned all year round, his blonde hair, perfectly gelled even in the rain, his green eyes the perfect shade, his smile perfectly white. It was almost as if he'd come from a magazine.

Jess closed her eyes and pictured him. She was standing at her locker and he came up to her, as if he'd been doing it for years. She looked up at him shyly and he smiled, and then he leaned down as if he were going to whisper in her ear. She leaned toward him holding her breath and tilted her head slightly to give him better access and to better hear whatever it was he was going to say. Instead, though, she felt him take the delicate skin of her earlobe into his warm mouth, and her own mouth fell open and her stomach dropped out from her insides and her knees wanted to buckle, so she took hold of his shirt in one hand and said, "Uh." He didn't seem to notice, or if he did, it just made him suckle harder, opening his mouth and sweeping his tongue along the crest of her ear making her flush with heat as a flood of warmth collected and settled inside her.

A sudden knock on her bedroom door made her eyes fly open. Swallowing hard, Jess sat up on the bed called, "Yeah!"

The door opened and Uncle Luke stuck his head in. "Just wanted to say goodnight." He stepped into the room and noticed that she was frowning and a little flushed. "You finished all your homework at the diner, right?"

"Uh-huh," she said, sitting up way too straight on the bed, her long legs stuck out in front of her, toes pointed. She was having trouble meeting his eyes.

"Okay." Luke hesitated and then came further into the room and dropped a kiss onto the top of her head. "Night then, Jess."

"Night," she answered and tipped her head away from him, keeping her hands in her lap.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you may recognize.

A/N: I love that people are enjoying this. I seriously never thought a sequel was in the cards, but hey, I've been wrong before. And ZZtop? You rule.

Thanks to Linz for everything.

Chapter Three

On Friday, Luke and Jess were the first to arrive at Emily and Richard Gilmore's for dinner. Luke had left the diner at five to go home and change into nice pants and a shirt and tie, then he'd headed for Hartford, arriving at six-fifteen, just in time to watch the last fifteen minutes of Jess' class. Sometimes he was caught off guard by how graceful and woman-like she had become.

She stood in a black leotard with capped sleeves, white tights and the new pink satin toe shoes, her arms above her head balancing easily on the toes of one foot while her other leg lifted up as high as it could go – to her waist – and then came down again and up went the other leg while the first one balanced. All the while her eyes focused on some unknowable object in the middle distance, her concentration high, her features sharp and tense. He knew these moves were elementary to her, but it was still amazing to him that anyone could do it, let alone someone he was related to.

Her arms came down now and she placed one little hand on the bar at her side, arranged her feet into first position and began to plié. When she finally spotted him she pitched him a wide, open smile and waved, then twirled over to say hello.

Luke grinned at her showing off and when she lifted her lips to his cheek he felt such a rush of pride and warmth it almost overtook him and he had to look away for a moment. This was his girl, and she was marvelous.

"About ready?" he asked, ducking his head and pushing his hands into his pockets. The other people there to pick up their daughters were all women and they made him feel a little shy. He could feel their curious looks on his back and he didn't like spending too much time here lest anyone get friendly and want to talk to him.

"Uh-huh," she answered spinning one more time for him and then heading with a flourish for the locker room. He waited while she changed into her Friday Night Dinner clothes, the only time during the whole week that she didn't wear a leotard, and watched the other dancers finishing up.

Getting accepted to the prestigious Hartford Junior Ballet Company was no easy task. As soon as Miss Patty mentioned it last year Jess had found out everything there was to know about it. The Company was for girls aged 13-18 in the Hartford area and getting in included jumping through several rings of fire, not the least of which was a fairly lengthy audition process. To his immense pleasure she'd nailed each audition and moved up the ranks of dancers easily.

He suspected that Emily Gilmore might have had something to do with it. She sat on the board of the professional ballet company in Hartford and had nothing _really _to do with the Junior Company, but he knew she knew people and it was something that he often wanted to ask her about.

Before he could ponder this more, Jess exited the locker room and came toward him wearing her royal blue velvet dress and slinging her dance bag over her shoulder. She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and leaned against him as they walked toward the truck. Nothing made her happier than to dance, but nothing wore her out faster, he knew.

They drove quickly to Emily and Richard's and pulled into the driveway by quarter to seven. Luke turned the ignition off and then faced her. "No other cars are here," he observed glumly.

"Looks like we're the first," she agreed.

Luke let his chin sink to his chest in exaggerated misery. Jess giggled and said, "Come on. It's not that bad, I'll be your buffer."

He laughed at the phrase. 'Buffer' was something Lorelai said, too, usually with reference to her parents and himself.

"Thanks," he said ruefully before opening his door and heading for the door.

As they suspected, Emily opened the door and immediately announced, "You're the first to arrive! Hello, Jess, how are you! My, you look smashing in that blue. Can I get you something to drink? Hello, Luke. Jess, I meant to tell you about this article I read in _Dancer USA_…"

Emily ushered Jess into the living room and Luke followed, used to this drill. Richard was there, already mixing drinks. He handed Jess a tall glass of chilled water, her usual, and then he turned to Luke and said, "What can I get for you, Luke?"

"Whatever you're having is fine, Richard," Luke answered, settling himself on the settee. Richard handed him a glass of Pinot Grigio and Luke took a generous sip, letting the alcohol take the edge off the evening. He'd been to enough of these now to know it wouldn't be a party.

Before things could get too awkward what with Richard and Emily not having anything to say to him, the doorbell rang again and Richard, still standing near the drink cart, went to get it. When he returned, a very pregnant Rory Gilmore and her husband Marty Banks followed him.

"Rory you are positively glowing!" Emily gushed as Rory sat with a grunt on the settee next to Luke. Marty sat in one of the end chairs while Richard got Rory a drink.

"If this kid doesn't come soon I'm going in after it," she replied with little ceremony. Her faced was paler than normal and it was obvious that the pregnancy was sapping all her spare energy. "He's been kicking all day. I swear I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight if this keeps up."

"Did you find out it's a boy?" Jess asked. They were all eager to know but so far Rory and Marty had been keeping mum.

"No, we still don't know; we want it to be a surprise," Marty reminded them.

"But what about decorating," Emily pouted. "You have to have some idea."

"The nursery colors are yellow and white, Grandma. You know this, you've been there," Rory chided indulgently, resting one hand on her sprawling stomach as she accepted a glass of water from Richard.

"I can't believe you're still working," Jess commented.

"I agree," Richard said. "Everyone at the office thinks you should have called it quits weeks ago."

"My due date isn't for another eight days," Rory reminded him, pausing to take several deep draughts of the cool water. "There's plenty I could be doing at the office, as you well know, and I just can't stand the thought of staying home, bored out of my mind every day."

Luke and Lorelai both had been beyond shocked when Rory announced at the end of her summer living with Richard and Emily that she'd be following in her grandfather's footsteps and getting her business degree at Yale and then going for her MBA. Once she had a focus point, though, nothing was going to stop her and she re-enrolled, graduated with honors in business, went straight into Yale's MBA program and, after some lengthy debates within the family, ended up accepting a position at her grandfather's insurance company.

Along the way, she'd come to the realization that Marty was not only a wonderful friend, but he was also the only man she trusted outside of her family. Logan had been disappointing and in the end, Marty had picked up the pieces and she'd seen him for what he truly was, the best thing that had ever happened to her.

They married three summers ago and now they were expecting their first child. "Won't you at least tell us what names you've picked out in either case?" Emily pressed.

"We want it to be a surprise, Grandma," Rory said with a smile.

Before Emily could protest the bell rang again and Lorelai arrived with Will who, adorably, was wearing a bow-tie and jacket just like Richard's. He looked so serious in his conservative little suit that when Lorelai introduced him as her date he rolled his eyes, and sat next to Jess for protection. Jess put an arm around his little shoulders and let him have a sip of her water.

Lorelai gave Luke a kiss hello and then patted Rory's stomach and said, "Hello, in there. Ready to come out yet?"

"God, I wish," Rory said again.

"Dinner's ready," came a voice from the doorway.

"Thank you, Angelina," Emily said and led the way into the dining room.

Richard and Emily sat in their customary places at the head and foot of the table, Lorelai sat on her usual side, between Luke and Will, and Rory sat on the other side flanked by Jess and Marty.

"So how's work, Marty?" Richard asked.

"Interesting," he said. "I didn't attend a school like Chilton and now that I'm teaching there it's a little weird. The kids are so competitive."

"You don't have to tell us," Emily said. "Rory held her own there beautifully, but you're right about how kids can be."

Luke watched Jess pick at her food. Lorelai must have been reading his thoughts because she looked up just then from cutting Will's meat to ask, "How was class, Jess?"

"Good," she said, starting to beam a little shyly at the family. "They announced the cast of _The_ _Nutcracker_ and I got the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy."

"That's marvelous!" Richard exclaimed as the others gasped and clapped. Luke smiled and she exchanged his look with one of her own, silently sharing their own moment.

"When will it be?" Rory asked.

"Rehearsals start on Tuesday and it'll run December fifteenth through the thirty-first."

"Wonderful," Emily sang out. "We'll all have to go!" Jess looked down at her plate and smiled, silently very pleased with herself.

For dessert, Angelina brought out chocolate mousse with whipped cream and Luke watched as Jess left hers untouched. This was the girl who had once stuffed an entire donut into her mouth to hide the evidence of stealing it in the first place. How times change.

Suddenly, Rory sat up straighter, put a hand to her lower abdomen and said, "Oh."

The entire table turned to stare at her and she looked around with wide eyes before she started again and said with some surprise and uncertainty, "I think…I think my water just broke." En masse the table erupted.

"My rug!" Emily cried when she saw the large puddle of goop under Rory's chair.

"Mom!" Lorelai scolded. "This isn't the time!"

"You're right, I'm sorry!" Emily said, coming to her senses.

Marty stood and helped Rory out of her chair, preparing to lead her to the car. "I'll follow you," Lorelai told them before turning to Luke and saying, "You take the kids home in the Jeep, I'll take the truck, okay?"

"Absolutely, drive safe and call as soon as you know anything." He kissed her quickly and watched her hurry after Rory and Marty. Richard and Emily followed Lorelai with Jess with trailing behind them and that left Luke at the table alone with Will, who was gazing up at him as if Luke had somehow orchestrated the entire thing get him away from Lorelai.

"Finish your pudding," Luke said gently.

"It's mousse," his son corrected him stiffly. It was going to be a long night.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you may recognize.

A/N: This is a sequel to a previous story called Jessie, reviews are coveted and cherished. And ZZtop? You still rule.

Thanks to Linz for everything.

xoxoxo

Chapter Four

Luke, Jess and Will got home by quarter to nine. Will ran immediately to his room and Jess headed toward her room, too, but Luke pulled her up short with a quick, "Hang on a sec."

This was wholly unusual and Jess spun around, her eyes wide and curious. "Yeah?"

Luke took a few steps into the room and put his keys into the dish near the door, trying to think of the right way of saying what he wanted to say. Finally, he decided to just say it. "You didn't eat much tonight at dinner," he began.

Heat crept up Jess's neck and defensively she sputtered, "Do you know how much fat and cholesterol is in Alfredo sauce? I'd rather not die of a heart attack before I'm twenty." She delivered these words with the haughty bravado all teenagers seemed to be masters of.

"So it didn't have anything to do with the fact that you have an incessant and almost obsessive need to watch what you eat?" Maybe that was a little harsh, he thought watching her face go from shocked to defensive to angry all over again. Jess opened her mouth to furiously deny his charge.

"I watch what I eat so I don't get _fat_! Do you want me to look like Sam? Ballerinas have to be _tiny_!"

"Sam's not overweight," Luke pointed out quickly. "And would you really want me to be like Sam's mother, never asking questions, never making sure you're okay?"

"I'm _fine_!" she said sharply. This was catching her completely off-guard and she knew she sounded irrational, but she felt like she was losing control. "God, talk about obsessive!"

"Don't yell at me," he cautioned. Her temper was always the first thing she lost when they argued.

"I'm not yelling," Jess said in a calmer voice. "I just don't think this is a big deal." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him with cold eyes.

"Your health is always a big deal. I would be asking the same questions of Rory or Lorelai if they sat through a five-course meal and only ate the salad, minus the dressing, and the steamed broccoli served as a side-dish."

"What are you the food police?" she asked, incredulous. "Did you take notes?"

Luke sighed deeply and looked her straight in the eyes. "I worry about you because I love you. You know that, right?"

Jess glanced away and shrugged, "Yeah, of course."

"Then please don't fight me when I tell you I'm worried."

"I'm not fighting you, I just don't think there's a problem." What could he say? Luke pressed his lips together and finally said quietly, "Fine. Go get ready for bed."

Jess spun on her heal and stormed away from him. Luke put two fingers to the bridge of his nose and rubbed the lines etched into his skin.

In her room, Jess slammed the door closed and quickly put her pajamas on. Everything had been going so well, why did Uncle Luke have to ruin it? She shook her head. What did he know, anyway?

A tapping on the window interrupted her thoughts. Jess went to the glass and lifted, opening the window to allow Sam to enter, her jet-black hair sporting orange streaks today.

"Hey," Sam greeted her.

"Hi," Jess said without enthusiasm. "You had another fight?" she asked thinking of what Uncle Luke had said about Sam's mother.

Sam nodded and made herself at home on the bed. She tossed her overnight bag on the floor and settled into the rumpled sheets and comforter.

"She's a bitch," Sam said matter-of-factly. "And she hates me."

"What happened?" Jess said, not even trying to argue with Sam.

"The notice for the P-SATS came. You probably got one, too, by the way, so check your mail. Anyway, she did the thing I hate with acronyms. You know when someone adds the last word in the acronym when talking about the acronym?"

"What?" Jess asked, confused. Sam's tendency for dramatics was even worse that her own.

"Like TCBY Yogurt. The 'TCBY' stands for 'The Country's Best Yogurt'. The name of the store isn't 'The Country's Best Yogurt Yogurt'. There's no need to say, 'We're going to TCBY Yogurt.' Well, she did it the P-SATS, 'Here's the P-SAT test information,' so I'm already annoyed going into the conversation. And then, out of nowhere, she's all, 'You should really think about beauty school. College is probably a little beyond you.' Can you believe that!" Sam exclaimed, her outrage coming to the fore again.

Jess shook her head and said, "That's awful. I'm so sorry!"

Sam lifted her hands as if to say, 'I'm done,' and turned to Jess. "How was your night?"

"Well, I got the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy." They squeed for a moment, then Jess continued, "Rory went into labor during dessert and Emily was pissed about the breaking water on her antique Oriental carpet." They paused here to laugh because it wasn't at all surprising. Then Jess sobered and finished, "And then when we got home Uncle Luke got all up in my grill about what I ate tonight."

Sam frowned and said, "That's not cool. What did you eat?"

"I ate the salad and some vegetables. It was a big salad, too," she said, because it was true.

"That's not bad," Sam said.

"Thank you! He acts like I've got an eating disorder or something. God, as if! You should see what some of the girls in the company do to stay thin. All I do is watch what I eat. He makes me insane."

"That bites."

Jess shrugged, tired of it. "It's fine. It won't be forever, I guess."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, you said yourself, the P-SATs are coming. Then the SATs and then college. If I don't get into some place good, like Julliard, I'll have to go to college and then get a job, then…what? Married? Kids? Suburbia," Jess finished with disgust.

Sam looked at her friend, and saw the two very different paths that stretched out before her. Professional Ballet lay on one side, Normal Life on the other. "Who would we marry?" Sam asked, curious.

Jess thought about it. "Tim Zachary for me." Sam giggled and said, "Yeah, baby! Bring it!"

Meanwhile, Luke went to check on Will and found him in bed, with a reading lamp on, looking at a picture book. The room was dark except for the glow of his little light. His little son seemed softer in this light, and peaceful.

"It's late, kiddo," he said after peeking around the open door.

"Is Rory having the baby right now, Daddy?" Will asked without preamble.

"Yep," Luke said, coming further into the room. "She sure is."

"And I'll be the baby's uncle, right?"

"That's right." Luke sat down on the edge of Will's bed.

"Will Mommy be back tomorrow?"

"Probably."

"I miss her.

"I know."

Will suddenly looked so forlorn that Luke lifted a hand and tousled his son's dark chocolate hair. "Go to sleep now and we can have pancakes in the morning."

"Really?" Will's eyes got wide and hopeful.

"Yep."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Night," Luke smiled and stood to leave, feeling at peace with at least one conversation. "Sleep tight."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you may recognize.

A/N: This is a sequel to a previous story called Jessie; reviews are devoured with cake and ice cream. Oh, and ZZtop? Still ruling.

Also, thanks to Linz for everything. My little bird is leaving the nest.

xoxoxo

Chapter Five

Jess woke up on Saturday morning to find that Sam had sprawled out of the sleeping bag on the floor and was taking up quite a bit of room. Carefully tip-toeing around her, Jess pulled on her bathrobe over the worn cotton pajamas she loved and left her room. Uncle Luke hadn't come in to say goodnight as was his custom and she was half wondering if she might be walking into another scene in the kitchen.

Luke stood at the kitchen island sipping green tea and looking at the front page of the New York _Times_. As Jess shuffled in she reflected that the placed hadn't changed much since she and Luke had moved into it eight years ago. In fact, the kitchen table in the corner was where she herself had proposed to Lorelai with the bowl of ice cream and diamond solitaire.

"Morning," she said sleepily.

"Morning," he replied briefly looking up. "The water's still hot if you want some."

"Thanks." She got herself a teabag and doused it with the boiling water from the teapot. Steam rolled and curled around her nose and she drank in the delicate scent of green tea.

"Any news about Rory?" She was sitting on one of the island bar stools opposite Luke blowing carefully on the hot drink.

Luke looked up from the article he was reading and said, "Lorelai called about an hour ago. Rory had a girl."

Jess' face split into a toothy smile. "That's great!"

Nodding, Luke agreed and over Jess' shoulder his eyes focused on something. Jess cocked her head over her shoulder and saw Will there, looking as neatly pressed in his pajamas and bathrobe as if he'd spent the night sitting upright in a chair. The bed head and pillow creases along one cheek were the only evidence she could detect in his otherwise perfect appearance.

"Morning," Jess greeted him.

"Hi," he said still sleepy. Will walked over and joined Jess on the other stool all the while looking at Luke with worried eyes. Luke took it in stride and went about fixing his son's cereal.

"When will Mommy be home?" Will asked when Luke put the bowl in front of him.

"Rory had the baby late last night. Mommy stayed at the hospital until about an hour ago. She's going to go to your grandparents house and get a few hours sleep then go visit Rory one more time and then come home," Luke explained.

Home, Jess thought and cringed. She had a feeling she was going to get into trouble, but it had to be done. "By the way Sam is here."

Luke looked at her sharply and said, "What do you mean she's here?"

"She came in through my window last night," Jess said trying not to feel guilty for not telling him immediately.

Luke picked up the phone and started dialing. "You should have told me right away. Her mother is probably worried."

Jess snorted and Luke answered with another sharp look. He would have said more but someone on the other end of the phone picked up and Jess listened intently to his end of the conversation, hoping Joanne wouldn't be too mad. "Joanne? Luke Danes, how are you? Yes, I know it's early, but there's a reason I'm calling. Apparently Sam came over last night and slept over with Jess. I just found out and wanted to make sure you weren't worried or anything. Okay. Okay, good. Thanks. Bye."

She watched her uncle as he put the phone down and said, "She didn't care did she?"

"That doesn't make it okay. Now what can I get you to eat?"

"Corn flakes."

Luke heaved a passive-aggressive sigh but didn't argue. He did, however, slice a banana into the bowl before placing it in front of her. To his delight, she didn't argue. He pushed the sugar bowl toward her and she pushed it back.

"Don't forget, Sam and I are going shopping today."

"I didn't forget, just be back for dinner."

Later, at the mall in Hartford, Jess was having trouble convincing Sam that she didn't want to buy a particularly low-cut top.

"I have nothing to fill it out with," she argued. "I look like an ironing board when I put it on."

"You didn't let me see it when you tried it on," Sam said pointedly, "which means you're going on your opinion and we all know you're your own worst critic."

Jess rolled her eyes and said, "I'm not getting it."

"Fine. Tim Zachary can drool over Melissa Harrington who has one exactly like it."

"Melissa Harrington is at least a C-cup," Jess pointed out reasonably.

Suddenly, Sam had a revelation. "We should get you a Wonder Bra."

"No," Jess said with finality. "No way."

"Why not?"

Jess would have listed the arguments against but Sam had already dragged her into the next store down with was a Victoria's Secret. Jess blushed hoped no one was staring at her. "I don't belong in here," she hissed at Sam. "There are _guys_ in here! How am I supposed to buy underwear with _guys_ around?"

"They're just husbands or boyfriends," Sam said with a wave of her hand, as if this made it all better. She led Jess over to a rack of lacy bras in all different colors and pulled one down. It had odd pads inside the lace and Jess examined it closely. "I really don't want to do this," she said.

"Try it on and then tell me you don't want to do this." Jess sighed miserably. Sam could be very pushy.

In the dressing room, Jess peeled down the leotard she was wearing and unhooked the plain white cotton bra Lorelai had bought for her. The Wonder Bra looked completely wrong on her. Sam had chosen red and the blatant sexiness of it made her feel like she was looking at someone else. The bra certainly did its job, though. She was padded and pushed until what little cleavage her pathetic A-cups could offer was right there, front and center.

She took it off and put her own bra back on, pulled the leotard back up and left the dressing room taking the red Wonder Bra with her. As she hunted for Sam in the store, she thought about what Uncle Luke had said about sex being complicated. She thought maybe she knew what he'd meant.

Rounding a corner still clutching the gaudy bra, she found herself face-to-face with Tim Zachary and his crew. Her mouth fell open and stared at him in surprise.

"You got panties to match?"

"What?" Jess asked, horrified to have been caught in a Victoria's Secret, clutching the embarrassing underwear.

"Panties to go with that," Tim said, pointing to her now trembling hand. Jess flushed as cherry-red as the bra itself and stammered, "I'm not b-buying it, I was just trying it on. My friend made me," she added in a rush.

Tim leered at her and said, "You can try it on for me one day." His friends hooted with laughter at this and they gave high-fives all around. Jess blushed even harder and ducked her head wanting to die.

The boys started to move away from her and she looked up when Tim called back, "See ya later, _Red_!"

Jess put her hand to her eyes and hunched her shoulders wanting to crawl under a rock and never come out. The humiliation was too much.

Feeling utterly mortified, Jess decided she was done shopping for the day. She tossed the bra into a bin of marked-down panties and left the store. Sam caught up with her before she'd gone too far.

"I'm going," Jess said without ceremony.

"Already?"

"I'm going to visit Rory and take the bus back from the hospital."

"Okay," Sam agreed, not sure what had happened to change the plans.

"I'll call you," Jess muttered and turned away, still reeling from her shame.

When Jess arrived at the hospital, she walked around for several minutes first looking for maternity and then looking for Rory's room. Lorelai was gone by this time, back in Stars Hollow, no doubt, so Jess wasn't sure what exactly she'd find.

Behind the glass case, the babies were placed in row after row of clear bins, as if they were on sale or something and they all needed to be properly displayed and labeled. Jess couldn't find Baby Gilmore or Baby Banks (she wasn't sure which last name to look for since Rory had not changed her name when she married Marty), so she headed for where she thought Rory's room might be.

Once the room was found, Jess knocked twice and then, when she heard a "Come on in!" she opened the door and found she wasn't the only visitor. Richard stood near the window holding his great-granddaughter while Emily stood beside him and cooing wildly. Rory was in bed looking pale but happy with Marty sitting in the chair beside her trying not to nod off in front of company.

"Long night," Jess ventured.

"You can say that again," Rory agreed.

Jess walked over to Richard and Emily and peered at the baby, the miniature human person, who was wrapped up tighter than a drum in some white blankets. "Do you want to hold her?" Richard asked.

"No," Jess said quickly. "I don't want to drop her or anything."

"Nonsense," Emily said, beaming at everyone and everything.

But Richard didn't move to give her the baby and Jess was happy about that. "Do you have a name picked out yet?"

Emily beamed some more and trilled, "Tell her, Rory!"

Rory rolled her eyes, as if she regretted having done whatever it was that was making Emily beam the way she was beaming. "The baby's name is Emily Victoria Gilmore Banks."

With a wide smile, Jess caught Emily's eye before taking little Emily's hand and brushing the tip of her finger along the sleeping infant's knuckles, unable to fully comprehend that yesterday, she had been inside of Rory.

Turning now to Rory she said, "Did it hurt?"

"God yes," Rory answered. "Doing the splits on a crate of dynamite doesn't even begin to describe it."

Jess shivered and fought the urge to sit down and cross her legs. Emily tutted over Rory's candid reply and Richard ignore them all together. "Another generation of Gilmores," he murmured. Jess thought she saw him fighting back a tear or two and she smiled to herself.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you may recognize.

A/N: This is a sequel to a previous story called Jessie; reviews are revered. Zztop will never stop ruling.

Thanks to Linz for everything.

And thank you MM Vermelha for the much needed criticisms. Five was not my finest chapter and I love that you gave me really honest feedback – it has made my work better…I hope.

xoxoxo

Chapter Six

When she got home the night after seeing Tim Zachary at the mall, Jess was withdrawn and sullen. She stomped through the door at exactly six, the time the family usually sat down for dinner, and flopped into her seat at the table with all the grace of a rhinoceros casually dropping into a pool of water.

There was a moment of silence in which both Luke and Lorelai looked her over and then exchanged a glance of their own.

"You all right?" Luke ventured, a note of annoyance in his voice.

"Fine," Jess replied irritably without looking up from her still-empty plate.

"Did you have fun at the mall?" Lorelai asked brightly, dolloping mashed potatoes onto Will's plate.

"Did you get me anything?" Will asked.

"It was fine," she mumbled.

Jess saw Luke and Lorelai exchange another glance and she fought back tears of frustration. Why did everything have to be so hard? Everything seemed to be working against her these days. She took some deep breaths and accepted the bowl of potatoes, added some to her plate and passed them to Uncle Luke.

"I talked to Rory tonight, she said you stopped by," Lorelai tried again.

"Yeah, I saw her and the baby. Emily and Richard were there."

"So they told you the name? I swear, if this doesn't create the monster I know my mother wants to be, I don't know what will."

Luke had not stopped eyeing Jess or her plate.

"Daddy and I watched cartoons today," volunteered Will.

"Good for you," Jess said flatly.

"That's enough," said Luke.

"Whatever," she muttered.

Choosing to ignore this, Luke said, "There's a package came from New York today. It's got your name on it."

"Where is it," she asked, immediately at attention, frustration with the world temporarily forgotten.

"Hall table."

Luke, familiar plaid shirt untucked and comfortably encasing his long arms, dropped two elbows onto the table, folded his hands and rested his chin against them as he waited. Sure enough, after jumping up and rushing into the front hall through the swinging door, she was back moments later with the smile he longed for and rarely saw these days.

"It's from my mom!" she announced. "It must be a late birthday gift!"

The table waited expectantly as Jess ripped open the little package and inside found a cheap, plastic watch with a brown band and horse's head on the face. Jess stared at it, deflating. Silently she cursed herself for getting her hopes up. Clearly, her mother had put no thought into the gift. Not only had she not ridden a horse in years, but the watch was meant for a ten year old. She reflected that six years ago she would have loved this gift. Now it seemed dumb and a little obvious. Her mother was still the same selfish woman she had always been.

Jess continued to stared at it, unable to look up at the table. "What is it?" Will asked, craning to see what she had gotten.

"Hey," Luke said gently, "that's pretty nice."

Jess looked up at him sharply. "Yeah, it's great," she replied sarcastically, tossing the watch to Will who picked it up and began looking it over.

"That's enough," Luke said for the second time, more sharply than before.

"I'm sure your mom meant well. Remember when you used to ride at the Dragonfly all the time? I'm sure she was remembering those days and just thought…" Lorelai trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

Anyone who knew Jess knew that she hadn't been on a horse since she'd started taking ballet seriously when she turned 13. Liz, who called every now and then, also knew this.

Jess let the rush of humiliation wash over her. Caught with a red bra by the most popular guy at school, doomed to a life of mediocrity because let's face it, what serious dance academy is going to let her in, and now this: a reminder that she had a mother who has never, _ever_, shown the slightest bit of interest in her.

The table remained silent as Will played with the watch and Luke alternately ate his turkey loaf and rubbed the bridge of his nose, and Lorelai tried to think of something to say to Jess who quietly ate her potatoes and turkey loaf and green beans.

xoxox

After dinner, Jess went out onto their front porch and sat down on the steps, her heart still sad.

She could hear Luke and Lorelai loading the dishwasher in the kitchen at the back of the house. It was still fairly warm for Connecticut in September and the windows were wide open.

Rubbing her eyes, Jess tried to feel better. She tried to remind herself that life wasn't just about mothers or boys or dancing. She rocked back and forth on the top step, squeezing her knees to her chest wishing that life were easier, simpler.

From behind her, she heard the screen door slam and she waited, knowing the familiar footfalls as well as she knew her own fingerprints. Uncle Luke sat down next to her on the step and clasped his hands between his wide knees. He had no idea what to say to her. Lorelai had forced him out here and now that he was here, he couldn't think of a single thing to say.

Jess held her breath, not wanting to give in to the tears that she needed to let out. "Don't be too hard on your mom," he finally told her. "She hasn't seen you in a long time."

A strangled sob escaped her mouth and Jess clamped a hand over her lips, trying to get control of her emotions. Before she could stop herself she bit out, "Whose fault is that?"

Luke dropped an arm around her slim little shoulders and pulled her close. "I know. She's not the best but she does love you." Jess let him tuck her head close into his shoulder and enjoyed the feel of the warm flannel against her wet cheek.

"It's not fair," she croaked in a voice thick with tears. "And don't say life isn't fair."

He didn't say a word. Instead, Luke let her cry, holding her tight and wishing for the words that would make it all better.

xoxox

Exactly one week later Jess was wrapping up her Saturday shift at the diner. She'd managed to avoid Tim Zachary at school for most of the week because they only had one class together – study hall – and all week she'd managed to get out of it by offering to help the school librarian re-catalogue some books. Uncle Luke had assumed that her breakdown last Saturday had to do with just her mother and she let him think it.

Jess had just finished clearing plates from Babette and Morey's table when the familiar bells tinkled and she turned and watched from behind the counter as Tim Zachary sauntered in with his entourage, the same boys who'd laughed so uproariously at the mall that day. As if out of some nightmare she felt Uncle Luke come out of the kitchen just then and move to stand beside her. Luke lifted one hand to point them to a table but before he could speak, Tim's face split into a wide smile and he exclaimed to Jess, "Red!" as if it were a nickname he'd been using since Kindergarten.

"Who?" Uncle Luke asked, and Jess's face burned with humiliation.

The boys just laughed, though, and Luke turned to Jess in confusion. Jess couldn't look at him. Her face, flaming, was probably about the same color as that damn red bra, she thought. She turned and went into the kitchen, letting her uncle deal with the boys. She wished she had the guts to stick around to throw a drink in his lap, but she couldn't bring herself to face him again.

After shedding her apron, Jess said a stiff goodbye to Caesar and slipped out the backdoor, wanting to get away as quickly and quietly as possible.

"Hey," she heard from behind her. Jess jerked her head around and saw Uncle Luke coming toward her.

"You don't use the front door anymore?" he chided her gently. She stood ramrod straight in her black leotard and jeans, staring at the outside wall of the diner as if waiting for something.

When it became clear he was really asking her the question she shrugged, not knowing what to say. Luke put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "You okay?"

Again, Jess couldn't meet his eyes, so she looked away and nodded, trying to put some pep in her demeanor. It was too embarrassing; she couldn't possibly tell him.

"But they called you 'Red'…" he said, dropping his hand and waiting for an explanation.

Jess closed her eyes and relived the whole mall experience again, the rush of heat into her face, the way her stomach had dropped, the fact that the boy on which she crushed had seen her in such a position.

"I know," she told him, hoping her voice sounded unconcerned. "It's a nickname."

"But I thought you didn't know him. At Sports Authority you were hiding from him, right? It's the same kid, isn't it?"

"We…" she groped for words, "…know each other now."

"Then why are you leaving out the back?" he asked, triumph in his voice.

Jess stuffed her fists into her pockets and hunched her shoulders, feeling frustration ooze out of her pores. "What is this, the inquisition? Just because we know each other doesn't make us friends!" Her voice rose a notch as this spilled out.

"Whoa," Luke calmly replied.

With a deep frown, Jess crossed her arms over her chest and again looked away. She simply could not talk about this with him. Her flat chest was only good for ballet; in real life it was the height of embarrassment. To tell him what had happened with the bra would mean that not only would they be discussing her underwear but also her lacking physique. She closed her eyes and wished for a swift death.

Luke stared at his niece, watching her shut down. He didn't want to force her, but something was clearly up. Finally, he gave in and said, "All right. I'll see you at home in a little bit. You're still babysitting tonight, right?"

"Yep," Jess said with a hasty nod.

"Great. If Sam comes over, make sure you call Joanne to let her know."

"Got it."

"See you later," he said, lifting his hands, palms up, as if to say, "I don't know what else to say to you so I'm giving up – for now."

Jess watched her uncle stride back into the diner's back entrance and heaved a sigh of relief before walking home.

xoxox

When Jess got home she could hear Lorelai on the phone in the living room, so she headed for her bedroom and in doing so passed Will in the den watching the History Channel. She ignored him. He could be such a little know-it-all sometimes.

Once ensconced in her own space, Jess took off her sneakers, sloughed her jeans in favor of sweatpants and flopped onto the bed. Her life was a mess. She turned into a vegetable whenever a boy talked to her, which admittedly was almost never; she'd been caught with a red bra in front of the most popular kid in school, and now she had a horrible nickname to go along with the horrible experience.

Could her life suck more?

Just as she sent this query up to the heavens, a tentative knock came at the door. "Come in," she said with a voice full of glum thoughts.

At her words, the door opened and Will poked his little head around it and said, "Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing," she said sitting up a little.

Will came and stretched solemnly across her bed and told her, "You look sad."

"I'm fine," she told him.

"Mommy and Daddy are going out to dinner tonight," Will said, his arms raised above her head his eyes trained on her ceiling. The movement of his arms tugged the sunflower yellow polo shirt just a little out of the neatly tucked in waistband of his khakis.

"Yep," she agreed. "And guess what I got."

"What?" he asked intrigued.

Jess pulled a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese out of her bag and Will clapped his hands together. "Really, Jessie?"

"Just for you. We have to wait until Luke leaves, though, or he'll have a conniption."

Will nodded knowingly as the door to her room edged open a bit to reveal Lorelai leaning gracefully against the jam. "Hey guys," she said.

"Hi, Mommy," Will said

Spying the box of mac n' cheese on the bed she lifted one brow and said, "You better hide that when Luke comes home – he'll have a conniption."

Jess agreed and slipped their dinner back into her bag.

"Will, do me a favor and let me talk to Jess alone for a minute."

Will looked from his mother to his step-cousin and sighed as only a putout five year old can before getting up from Jess's bed and closing the door behind him. Lorelai gingerly sat down, using the space just vacated by her son on the little twin bed.

"Luke called to tell me you were on your way home," she began.

Jess looked at her lap.

"He said you guys had a _thing_ in the alley."

"It wasn't a _thing_," Jess protested.

"Well, a thing_let_, then."

Jess rolled her eyes and scoffed, "He would never understand."

"Understand what?"

With some hesitation, Jess recounted the scene at the diner and the events that had led up to them from a week ago. When she was finished, she could tell that her face was again bright red and she hated to think what Lorelai thought of her. Rory had probably never had problems like this. Rory was the perfect child.

After a moment of silence Jess looked up thinking she would find pity and perhaps amusement on Lorelai's face and was surprised to find that she looked to be reasonably full of compassion. Jess' shoulders sagged. "It's no big deal. I'll get over it."

"Honey, you shouldn't have to get over it. Those boys are just immature idiots. In five more years they're going to have gone through all the low-hanging fruit around here and you'll be long gone, dancing in New York or Paris, and they'll wish they'd been nicer."

"Five years doesn't help me now."

"I know," Lorelai said softly. "Boys can be so dumb."

"Don't tell Uncle Luke, okay?" Jess asked suddenly, the thought occurring to her and immediately leaving her humiliated all over again. He absolutely could not discuss her breasts with anyone.

"Of course I won't," Lorelai promised. "Whatever you and I talk about never goes further."

"Thanks."

"I wish there was something I could do to make it better, though. Did you like the bra? We could get you one, you know, in a better color if you wanted."

Wincing, Jess shook her head and said, "It looked all wrong. Not me. Plus once they get a look at me they'd know I was using it and then I'd really be in for it." As she spoke, Jess absently tugged on the knot at the crown of her head and the pent up curls tumbled down her shoulders in a dark flourish. It reached to nearly her waist and it existed mainly because Jess refused to do anything with it but tie it up after her morning shower. It grew because she didn't notice that it was growing.

Lorelai became aware that Jess, the shy and awkward sixteen-year-old, was becoming a beautiful and graceful woman. For Jess, though, there were two lives: the one where she danced and the one where she did everything else. The confidence she carried in her body when she was in front of an audience did not translate to the real world.

"Well, let me know if there's anything I can do. I'd be happy to call Tim's mother, you know."

"_God_, no!" Jess responded, not entirely to the surprise of Lorelai who lifted her hands and said, "It's just a suggestion. I won't do it if you tell me not to."

Jess thought back to that one horrible Thanksgiving dinner at Emily and Richard's. She'd just gotten her first period, like that day, and before dinner Jess had overheard Lorelai blabbing to Emily about it. She shivered. Emily had given her such a tender look over dessert that Jess had wanted to puke.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you may recognize.

A/N: This is a sequel to a previous story called Jessie; constructive criticism is always welcome.

Thanks to Linz for everything.

xoxoxo

Chapter Seven

Once the two adults had gone, Jess retrieved the contraband dinner from her room and made Will's dinner. She had a bowl of corn flakes, a green apple (minus the skin), and a tall glass of water. Will, who had learned the puppy-dog eyes from the woman who had invented them, asked if they could eat in the den and Jess agreed since she'd seen what was in there earlier.

Will made a beeline for the TV where he had neatly stacked three DVDs that he now brought to her. "Which one?"

Jess examined the movies and picked _The Incredibles_ since she had not yet seen it. Together, they snuggled on the couch and giggled over the family of superheroes' misadventures.

When she was tucking him in later on, she squinted at him and said, "How come you never let Luke tuck you in?"

Lifting his little shoulders, Will said, "I like when Mommy does it."

"Luke does it as good as Lorelai. He used to tuck me in, you know."

"It's not the same. You didn't have a mommy." Will's words were so matter-of-factly delivered that Jess almost winced. Almost.

"That's what I mean," she told him. "Luke was just as good."

"I'm not like him," Will said plaintively. "And I don't think he likes that I'm not like him. Remember when he got me the fishing rod for Christmas? I hate fishing!"

"I know, but you can't just give up."

"Why not?"

"Because you can't," Jess said. "Parents have to love you, that's their job. He loves you just as much as your mommy does, more probably," Jess finished, hoping this wasn't too over the top.

Will seemed to be considering this before he said dubiously, "More?"

"You're his first born son. Do you know what that means?"

"No."

"When people, especially men, have kids, they always want the boy first."

"Why?" he asked, suspicious.

"I don't know. They just do. So think about that."

"Maybe," Will said.

xoxox

"So?" Luke asked shifting in his seat nervously, as if he expected his wife to tell him that Jess was hooked on smack, but not to worry because there are great clinics for problems like this these days.

Lorelai's warm look softened him somewhat, and she took his hand across the candlelit table and said, "What she told me was in confidence. She asked me specifically not to tell you, so I'm afraid I can't."

"What!"Luke asked, shocked and pulling away. Lorelai had not given him this information when they were in the truck on the way to the restaurant because she'd known he would want to pull over or worse, go home.

Lorelai took Luke's hand again and said, "Let me tell you something. If she had come to you with this problem, you would have been _mortified_, and _she_ would have been mortified for having to talk to you about it and _making_ you mortified and the whole thing would have been so uncomfortable that you would have avoided each other for _weeks_."

Luke's face softened again. Lorelai wouldn't lie to him and he trusted her, but he didn't want to believe what she was telling him. "Give me a broad, undefined hint," he finally demanded.

"Underwear," she said. "In color."

Luke cringed, nodded and picked up his menu. "Let's order."

xoxox

When they arrived home that night they could see lights burning in the den. Sure enough, Jess and Sam were camped out on the floor in their pajamas, their faces slathered with mud-masks. They were watching _Sean of the Dead_ and while Sam had clearly devoured a bag of corn chips, Luke could see that Jess was daintily picking at a bowl of carrot sticks.

"Hello, ladies," he said from the doorway.

"Hey, Uncle Luke," Jess answered without taking her eyes off the movie.

"Hey, Mr. Danes," Sam said a little too flirtily. Jess shot Sam a dirty look and Luke chose to ignore the whole inference.

"Does your mom know you're here?"

"Uh huh."

"How was Will?"

"He was great," Jess told him. "We watched a movie and played some board games, then I read to him and he's asleep now."

Lorelai joined him in the doorway just then and said, "Ohh, pajama party!"

Luke left them to their own devices and headed for Will's room. The door was half-open and the little night-light bathed the room in a soft yellow glow.

Pushing the door open, Luke found his son wide-awake, with a flashlight in hand, looking at the pictures in _Where the Wild Things Are_. Startled, Will looked up at the intrusion.

"Good book?" Luke asked gently.

"I'm just looking at the pictures."

"That's okay."

Will looked at his father closely, then he unexpectedly and uncharacteristically said, "You wanna read it to me?"

"Yeah, sure," Luke said, pleased.

So Luke settled onto the bed as he used to with Jess, and read by the light of the nightlight until Will fell fast asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you may recognize.

A/N: This is a sequel to a previous story called Jessie; constructive criticism is always welcome.

Thanks to Linz for everything, including keeping me from throwing out a good portion of this chapter.

xoxoxo

Chapter Eight

The brilliant red leaves gusted briskly down the street. Jess stood for a moment and watched, wishing she could be a leaf: no cares, no worries, just picked up and carried through life on the back of the wind. Like riding a horse.

There was a new chill to the air and she shivered involuntarily. The cold brick against her side was unforgiving but she huddled closer out of instinct. School had let out a little early that day and she didn't have to be at the diner for another thirty minutes. It was mid-November and she pulled her winter coat around her shoulders a little tighter.

Jess was watching the students walking home, tossing footballs and chatting. Sam had gotten detention in their English class that afternoon so she didn't have anyone to hang out with just then. With a wistful little sigh, she curved her lithe body closer to the brick wall of Stars Hollow High and wished again that she was just a little leaf, blowing around town.

Suddenly, from behind her came a voice dark and sweet like chocolate that murmured. "Hey, Red."

Stiffening, Jess prepared to spin around and give him a piece of her mind but before she could even take a breath he continued: "I haven't been able to think about any other girl since we saw you at the mall that day."

She couldn't breath, she couldn't turn around and she couldn't speak. Gripping her backpack's shoulder straps tighter and with wide eyes, she opened her mouth but found that there was nothing she could say. How do you respond when someone sneaks up behind you and tells you he can't think of anyone but you?

Tim. Zachary. Her mind reeled and she felt herself falling backwards. Too late she realized that it was Tim pulling gently on the arm of her coat, pressing her back against the cold brick wall, and then pressing himself against her.

His lips were cold at first but they grew warmer the longer they touched hers. One of his hands moved into the knot of hair at the base of her neck and the other took one of her hands and squeezed.

Just as Jess regained her equilibrium and started to kiss him back he pulled away and grinned at her. "Don't tell anyone!" he whispered before turning and leaving her in such a rush that she had to take several deep breaths before being able to push off from the wall and start walking toward the diner.

xoxox

The secret of Tim Zachary stayed with Jess all through her shift at the diner. She was so distracted that at one point, without thinking she stopped at Kirk's table and said, "What'll it be?"

When an answer didn't come she looked over her pad and met Kirk's gaze. "Things are gonna change, missy," he said. "You and me? It's gonna be different."

"You can't still be mad that I punched you. It was like eight years ago!"

"Don't tell _me_ what I feel!" Kirk hissed. "I saw you today. Kissing!"

Jess's head snapped up and her eyes threw darts into his. "What did you say?" she hissed back.

"You heard me! So things are going to change. I want a little respect!"

"I would have given you respect years ago if you hadn't let me beat you up when I was only eight!"

"Luke! She's threatening me again!" Kirk called, terror in his voice.

Hooking a hand through her elbow, Luke calmly led her away and once in the kitchen asked, "Where the hell is your head today? You know I always handle Kirk's table when he's in."

"I know, I'm sorry – I wasn't thinking."

"Well start thinking or it's gonna to be a long night for both of us."

Jess nodded and hung her head, knowing he was right.

Deciding then and there to get it together and not give Tim Zachary or his wonderful lips another thought, she squared her shoulders and marched through the swinging doors to her customers.

xoxox

An hour later, Jess was delivering an armload of plates to a table of tourists when the familiar bells jingled and she heard Luke say, "By the window, guys." She looked up just in time to see Tim Zachary and three other boys head right for the empty four top near the windows to the right of the door. Something, perhaps her guilty conscience made her look at Kirk who was already staring at her with a look filled with significance.

Sending him a look of her own, eyes narrowed, impatience and ire fairly oozing out of her pores Jess passed Kirk's table and stood before Tim and his friends. She offered him a shy smile, hoping to convey her open adoration and complete forgiveness for his asking her to keep their kiss a secret. Tim was easily the most popular guy in school. Of course he wouldn't want undo attention, especially for her. He must know how badly she wanted to stay out of the limelight. What a dear, sweet boy he was to guess her feelings about wanting their secret love to stay a secret.

"Hey, _Red_," said Jackass, who's name was really Jack. Jess couldn't think of a single time when he'd been called Jack by anyone other than teachers or parents. Everyone knew him as Jackass. He was a Linebacker for the Stars Hollow football team and just as dumb as the stereotype required him to be.

Jess curled her lip at Jackass and said, "What can I get you," in a tone of voice that said, "God, you make me sick."

"We'll have a panty – oops! I mean a _plate_ of fries," said Aaron, Tim's best friend.

"Is that all?"

The fourth boy at the table, another football player called Preston, said, "I'll have a _shake_ your booty. _Vanilla_."

The look of disgust Jess gave them was coupled with the remark, "You guys are so pathetic."

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Kirk sending her intense, meaningful glances so she took a deep breath and said dismissively, "Is that it? Fries and a vanilla shake?"

"That's it," said Tim looking at her with those big blue eyes of his. Jess melted into a puddle on the ground before gathering herself together and saying, "Okay, then," as she walked away to put the order in.

Mrs. Tim Zachary. Mrs. Jess Zachary. Mrs. Jess Danes Zachary. Mrs. Jessica Elizabeth Danes Zachary. Perhaps life wasn't so bad after all.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you might recognize. Jess is mine, Sam is mine, Will is mine and Tim is mine along with all his friends.

A/N: I know. I know! It's been a really long time. Here's the thing: I need input from you guys. Tell me what you'd like to see happen. Am I missing a vital teen experience for Jess to have? I hate going this long between posts but I'd rather have good stuff than fast stuff.

Jess stood at the front window, anxiously stepping from foot to foot. Lorelai had taken Will to visit Rory and Little Emily, and Luke was at the diner. She had pleaded a headache and sped home when Tim had slipped her a note from the corner table.

And here he was now, surreptitiously striding across their little lawn. Before he could even ring the bell, she'd flung the door open and pulled him inside.

They stood for a moment, staring at each other and breathing hard. She'd been so nervous that he would change his mind and not come at all, or get caught by one of the neighbors. But he was here – really here!

"I don't think anyone saw you," she managed to say. God, how obvious! Was that really her opening line?

"Nope. I have to be home in an hour. My mom's making dinner."

"Okay." Jess folded her hands together in a tight clench, hating how wet they were. What should she say next?

"Wanna watch some TV?"

A wave of relief rushed over Jess as she let out a whoosh of air. "Yes! TV, that's perfect. Great idea."

When they were seated on the couch in the den, TV tuned to MTV, Tim wasted little time. Pulling Jess close, he pressed against her and began kissing her. Jess stifled a nervous giggle – a boy was _kissing_ her! – and tried to kiss him back as expertly as possible. His lips moved over hers and she tasted the coke she'd served him at the diner just thirty minutes ago. He smelled so good – like woods and fire. Probably it was the latest body spray from Bath and Body Works. Tim always had the latest everything.

In a haze, she felt Tim's fingers on her neck, stroking the soft skin, and she was glad she'd worn her usual leotard and jeans. The wide open neckline gave him ample skin to touch and each glide of his fingertips sent electric shocks through her. She was so keyed up that she barely noticed when he began tugging the leotard down a little.

Tim's lips left hers for a moment and found their way to her throat. Her eyes flicked open for a moment and then drifted shut again as she enjoyed the attention. Tim's fingers continue to work the neckline of her leotard and in a flash Jess could feel him inching it down over her shoulder along with her bra strap.

With an involuntary shiver, she opened her eyes and pulled back slightly. "What are you doing?" Her voice sounded breathless and she realized she was panting.

"You're so gorgeous. I just want to see more of you."

Jess's skin warmed at his compliment and she leaned up to find his mouth again. He thought she was gorgeous! Slowly she could feel him pulling the other side of her leotard and bra strap down. It would be okay, she felt sure. He _couldn't_ think she'd go too far and really, he must love her if he wanted to be doing this with her.

Her body have an involuntary jolt when he suddenly, and not very smoothly, she thought, grabbed her breast. Startled, Jess pulled away again and stared at him. Tim stared back at her, his hand still…there.

Before she could speak a door slammed in the distance.

"Oh, no," she said. "Someone's home!"

Pushing back from her, Tim sailed across the couch and pulled a throw over his lap. Jess readjusted her leotard and patted down her hair, hoping it looked okay.

"Jess!" she could hear Uncle Luke's voice from the kitchen.

"In here!" Jess called, her voice catching a little and jumpy.

Suddenly Uncle Luke's big frame appeared in the door and Jess squeaked, "Hey!"

Luke surveyed the scene, taking in Jess sitting ramrod straight on one end of the couch and Tim, all the way over on the other side of the couch with a blanket over his lap. They were both panting slightly and looking rather guilty.

"What's going on?" Luke asked, his voice steely.

"Nothing. Watching TV. MTV," Jess blathered. "Nothing else on. Or going on."

"Yeah," Tim put in.

There was silence for a moment as Luke stared at Tim. "Go home."

"But I – "

"NOW!" Luke bellowed and Jess jumped. She had never seen Uncle Luke like this before. Never.

Jess watched as Tim stood and scurried out, ducking as he passed Uncle Luke and headed for the kitchen door.

"What the _hell_ is going on, Jess?" he asked after the door behind Tim had slammed closed.

"Nothing," she repeated a note of defensiveness edging into her voice.

"Don't lie to me!" Luke said sharply. Jess could see that he was trying to control his temper. He took a few deep breaths and said, "I'm not stupid. I was your age once. I know what you were doing."

Jess blushed. Gross! Uncle Luke let out one last deep breath and came to sit on the coffee table before her.

"Can we talk about this?"

Was he kidding? Jess stared at her lap, silent.

"Jess, sex is not something that you should rush into."

"We weren't having _sex_!" she said, insulted.

"You weren't far from it!" Luke shot back. Then he did some more deep breathing. "All I'm saying, is that you should take it slow."

Jess continued to stare into her lap. What did he know? He'd taken it slow with Lorelai and it had ended up taking _ten years_ to get her to marry him! Not that she wanted to get married, but still.

"Are you even listening to me?" Jess's head jerked to attention and she saw that Luke was staring at her, looking expectant.

"Yes," she lied.

"Good. Because you don't seem to understand how serious this is."

Jess rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "You are being so dramatic! Why can't you just leave me alone? I know what I'm doing!" Even as she said it she knew that this was a lie. She had no idea what she was doing. But it was humiliating to have Uncle Luke show up and get all high and mighty about 'what was good for her'.

"You know what you're doing? You know what you're doing?" he sputtered back at her. And she realized: he had no idea what _he_ was doing. He had lost control of the situation and he had no idea how to get it back.

"That's right!"

"Go to your room!" He was bellowing again.

"Fine!" she screamed back before standing up and storming out of the room.

Luke sat still for a moment and then let his head fall into his hands. What the hell did he do now?


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you might recognize. Anyone not from the show, though, is mine, also the storyline.

A/N: Okay, some of you expressed disappointment in Tim and Jess's decision, and that's my fault. I clearly didn't do a good job of showing that Jess only want to make out a little and not go much further. Also, I haven't decided whether Tim is going to be good or bad yet. Feel free to tell me what you'd like to see.

xoxox

Without moving from the coffee table, Luke snaked a hand out and grabbed the cordless. After punching in Lorelai's cell number he waited impatiently for her to answer. He needed her to calm him down. If the dishwasher hadn't been acting up he never would have gotten sprayed with water and need a change of flannel. If he hadn't come home when he did who knows what might have happened?

"Come on, come on," he muttered, waiting for her to pick up. How had he lost control of the situation so quickly? He had wanted to rip that Tim's head off and then drop kick it out a window.

"Hello," came a breathless voice on the other end of a very bad connection.

"Lorelai, it's me."

"Hi!" Her voice sounded bright and cheerful. "You know I _still_ can't believe I'm a grandmother! It sort of makes me want to take up knitting. Little Emily is amazing, though. I wish you could have come with us."

"Yeah, me, too," Luke said shortly. "Listen, I need to talk to you."

"What's up?"

"Jess…" how did he put this? "Had a boy here this afternoon. I chased him out but it's possible that he'll be back. I don't…I don't know what to do. She's in her room now and she denies it but I know something was up." By the time he'd finished his voice had risen several notches.

"Okay, calm down. I'm sure it was innocent."

"You didn't see what I saw."

"What did you see?"

"Guilt! They both looked guilty as sin."

"And he's gone now?"

"Yeah and she's in her room."

"Okay. We'll be home soon and I'll talk to her."

xoxox

An hour later, Lorelai knocked on Jess's closed bedroom door. Luke and Will were in the kitchen getting dinner ready. When no answer to her knock came, Lorelai cracked the door a couple of inches and said, "It's me. Can I come in?"

Jess was lying in bed with the covers over her head, but she managed a dull "Fine."

Pushing Jess's legs aside, Lorelai sat down on the bed and tugged at the blankets with a smile. "Do you remember when we got you the Powerpuff Girl bedspread?"

Jess nodded her head but kept her eyes on the ceiling.

"Jess, what happened today?"

"Nothing," said Jess insistently. "We weren't doing anything."

"So you weren't kissing?"

A hot blush crept up Jess's neck and she glanced at Lorelai and then away again, embarrassed. "Okay we were kissing, but that's it."

"Kissing is fine," Lorelai assured her. "As long as you're doing it with someone who really likes you. How well do you know this guy?"

With another blush Jess said, "It's Tim Zachary."

"The bra guy?" Lorelai said in astonishment.

"Don't call him that!" Jess said. "He's been a lot nicer to me."

"Does he really like you?"

With pursed lips Jess thought about it for a moment. "I think so. Why would he want to hang out with me and kiss me if he didn't really like me?"

Lorelai was silent for a minute and then said, "Unfortunately, there _are_ some people out there who will want to hang out with you who might not really like you. Not all guys are good guys."

"We weren't going to have sex," Jess said, her voice rising. "We really weren't. I wouldn't have wanted to."

"I believe you. But you were here alone and that might have made him think otherwise. Did you talk about it at all?"

"No."

"Then he might not have known what your intentions were. Also, there's a safety issue here. When you're home alone and you let someone in…" Lorelai trailed off, not wanting to put the dark thoughts into words. "Bad things can happen," she finally finished.

Jess looked down, knowing that Lorelai was right. She knew better. Suddenly she felt very ashamed of herself. How well _did_ she know Tim? Could she trust him? God, why did everything have to be so hard?

"I'm glad you're not ready for sex yet," Lorelai said.

"Why?"

"Because it just complicates things."

"That's what Uncle Luke said."

"He's right. Once you add sex into the mix of relationships it can get very messy. Especially for girls. Guys have a lot less to lose and guys tell each other everything about the girls they date."

"Really?"

"Well at your age they do. Just promise me that you'll take things slow, okay?"

"Okay," Jess said after another second of thought.

"Okay," Lorelai said. "Do you remember your cake that year? Powerpuff Girls as ballerinas. And you gave your Uncle Luke a cake-face!"

Jess giggled and nodded remembering her ninth birthday. Then she sobered. "Is he mad?"

Lorelai's face softened and she stroked Jess's arm. "No, honey, he's not mad he's just worried about you. He doesn't want to see anything bad happen and since he was a teenage boy once he can imagine all of the bad things that could happen."

Jess sat up then and opened her mouth, but before she could answer there was a knock at the door and then it opened to reveal Luke and Will. "Dinner's almost ready," Will told them.

"Thank God, I'm starving," Lorelai said dramatically, standing and leading Will away. Luke stood awkwardly in the doorway for a moment before asking, "Can I come in."

Jess nodded and moved her legs out of the way so that he could sit down. "We weren't…" she began "…doing _that_. And just so you know I don't want to." She stared at her hands as she spoke.

"I'm glad to hear it," he said gently taking her hand. "I love you so much and I would hate it if something happened to you."

"I love you, too," she said glancing up at him. His face, all lined and stubbly, was very open and tender. "I'm sorry he came over."

"It's okay."

They sat like that all peaceful and silent for another moment before Lorelai's voice floated in to them from the kitchen. "Are you guys eating or what?"

Jess smiled and said, "What's for dessert?"


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you might recognize. Anyone not from the show, though, is mine, as is the storyline.

A/N: This is the end of the line, folks. As of this chapter, the story "Jess" is complete. I hope you've enjoyed the run as much as I have, and I hope you'll look for more of my stories in the future. Peace out, y'all.

xoxox

"So you haven't heard from him at all?" Sam asked Jess for about the millionth time as they headed down the familiar drab hallways of Stars Hollow High. With a huge eye roll and a sigh, Jess shook her head and said, "No. I told you this. How much more is it gonna take for you to believe me?"

"I believe you, I do, I'm just starting to think that it was a good thing that Luke threw him out. Why would you make out and then never hear from him again?"

"I don't know. Maybe he got suspended for something and grounded and he's locked up in the basement like the guy in Desperate Housewives. Or maybe a relative got sick and the whole family had to go out of town to see them."

Sam stared at her friend with wide eyes, wishing that either of these excuses were probable. They had stopped in the hallway just outside of their Bio class and Sam opened her mouth to say, "You might be right," because she loved Jess and didn't want her to be hurt when suddenly, Jackass, of all people, descended upon them with a leering grin.

With his two index fingers pointing at them and his mouth opened wide for the laughter to escape he said, "_Jeeeeessssss_! Wanna hang out after school?" His eyes dropped to her chest and then shot back up again to wiggle eyebrows at her.

"Drop dead!" Sam shot back.

"Your friend can come too," Jackass told Jess who was still too stunned to even open her mouth. Tim had told Jackass! Oh, my God! The heat of a blush swept up her neck and across her white face. Unbelievable!

"Piss off, Jack_ass_," Sam tried again. "Why on earth would either of us want to hang with you or that rat Tim? It's not like he was any _good _at it!"

That shut Jackass up for a minute and the girls escaped into their classroom while he tried to think of something to say. "How could I have been so stupid?" Jess moaned when they were seated and waiting for class to start.

"You weren't stupid. You were blinded by love. It happens to the best of us," Sam assured her.

Jess let her head drop into her hands and she felt Sam rub her back a little. Her life was over.

xoxox

That afternoon at the diner Jess put on her apron and silently got to work. She was pretty sure that none of them would come in – they were all too afraid of Uncle Luke. Uncle Luke was standing behind the counter, order pad in one hand, pencil in the other, writing with indifference as a short, stocky man gave him an order. Jess watched her uncle for a moment. Typically dressed in jeans and a plaid button-down shirt, blue backwards baseball cap riding just above his eyebrows, and long fingers scribbling away.

Jess absently scratched her head, ready to join him when out of the corner of her eye she caught sight a guy…in an apron that matched hers…taking orders from a table over by the window! What the hell?

"Who's that?" she asked when Luke finished with the guy.

Luke glanced up to where she was pointing and said, "That's Drew." He said this like it was silly for her to have asked in the first place.

"Drew?" she repeated. "Who the hell is Drew?"

"Language," he chided her softly before saying, "I hired him today. You got something in the mail that made me think you'd be gone for a lot of the summer."

Uncle Luke's eyes were getting all crinkly and she could tell that he was trying not to blurt out something big and important. "What? What's going on?"

He pulled a fat, yellow manila envelope out from below the counter and handed it to her. The return address was Julliard and her name and address were marked in the center, neatly printed out on a white mailing label.

"Oh, my God," she whispered. "Is this for real?"

"Feels heavy enough to be real," he told her grinning slyly.

With unabashed delight, Jess ripped the package open and found a cover letter welcoming her to the elite group of dancers who got into the summer program at Julliard's School of Dance. With a shriek Jess jumped into Luke's arms and hugged him tight around the neck. He held on and swung her around before letting her drop to the floor again. "You got in," he told her happily.

"This is amazing!" she practically shouted garnering looks from some of the diner patrons.

Drew was on his way back to the counter area and stopped short as if re-thinking the move. Luke took the opportunity to say, "Drew, this is my niece, Jess. Jess, I want you to meet Drew."

"Nice to meet you," Jess beamed at him, thrusting her hand out to shake his. Her normal nervousness at meeting a guy was gone, she was just happy.

"You, too," he said, giving her hand two strong pumps before letting it go. His eyes smiled back at hers and she noticed that they were a deep, dark blue, like Lorelai's. His hair was a dark red, and curly, a combination she'd never seen on a guy before. Jess couldn't stop looking at him.

"Drew's a transfer student to Stars Hollow High. He's a senior this year and I thought we could get him trained and ready for the tourist season this summer when you're gone to New York."

"Great idea," Jess said, still gazing into Drew's dark blue eyes. He seemed just as captivated by her, too.

Luke noticed their fascination finally and cleared his throat. "Okay, then. Back to work everybody."

Drew ducked his head, smiled at her again, and moved around the counter to get coffee for his table by the window. Jess hugged her package close to her chest and smiled to herself before turning around and kissing Luke on the cheek. "Thank you," she said, feeling that perhaps the world wasn't so bad after all.

She would enjoy Drew's company, not make the same mistakes as the ones she'd made with Tim, go to New York in the summer and just let things happen. Yes, she though, as she put the package back below the counter and tightened her apron strings, I'll just see what happens.

End


End file.
